Grain car door



J. MATTSON GRAIN CAR DOOR June 19, 1934.

Filed July 29, 1932 Patented June 19, 1934 IIUNlTED PATENT JacobMatt-son, Duluth, Minn.

Application July 29, 1932, Serial No. 625,619

1 Claim.

This invention relates to railway car doors and has special reference towhat are commonly known as grain doors for cars; that is to say theinner closure for car door openings, and applicable either for grain,coal, or the like.

The principal object is to provide a more practical and durable doorthan heretofore known; it being very apparent to those versed in the artthat cheap wooden doors are frequently used for such purpose with noprovision for salvaging same, or repeating the use of the door.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in thefollowing description thereof.

Referring now to the accompanying drawing, forming part of thisapplication, and wherein like reference characters indicate like parts:

Figure 1 is an inner elevation of one of my improved doors, illustratedin closed position as applied to a car.

Figure 2 is an enlarged elevation of the operating drum taken at rightangles to that shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an enlarged horizontal section through fragmental portionsof the door showing one of the supporting arms in plan view; and

Figure 4 is an enlarged elevation of the automatic door locking dog.

1 represents the floor of a common box car having the door opening 2therein and 3 represents the sheet metal grain door, this being the typeI prefer in carrying out the invention. This door is formed withhorizontal reinforcing corrugations 4 upon the inner surface thereof,though may be reinforced in any other manner desired. I propose tomanipulate the door by the novel mechanism hereinafter described in anarcuate path intermediate of its ultimate positions as a closure for thedoor opening and upon a suitable ledge or shelf like receptacle 5installed within the inner side Wall of the car.

For such installation I have provided a pair of supporting arms 6 and"1; they being pivotally supported as at 8 and 9 respectively, withtheir free ends pivotally attached to the inner face of the doorintermediate of the two uppermost corrugations thereof, as at 10, andobviously for this purpose a suitable filler block indicated at 11 willhave to be installed to provide free action of the levers withoutfrictional contact with the reinforcing ribs. These two levers 6 and '7are of the proper length to lodge the door when closed in its properalignment in the opening and when opened to similarly lodge the door andretain it in proper upright position upon the shelf 5.

For manipulation of the door I provide the drum controlled line 12attached preferably at the pivotal connection of the lever '7, thenceleading to and over a suitable sheave 13 adjacent the ceiling of thecar, thence to and over a similar sheave 14 to carry the line beyond thefurther limits of the shelf 5, and thence downwardly and through a pipe15 as a guide through the floor of the car, to and around the small handoperated rum 16. This drum is mounted upon the short stub shaft 1'7supported in a suitable journal on the channel iron beam 18 of the car,and upon the outer end of this shaft is carried the hand wheel 19 bywhich the drum is rotated in either direction for opening and closingthe door.

A novel feature of this installation is that the sheave 13 is locatedslightly closer to the door opening than the location of the pivotalpoint 10 of the lever '7 when the door is in its stowed position on theshelf 5 so that winding action of the drum will tend to dislodge thedoor from its stowed position and start it towards closed position, towhich it is ultimately carried by gravity as is obvious.

As a tight joint for the forward edge of the door I have illustrated ametal angle cleat 20 about the corner of the door post 21 between thefree edge of which and the inner face of the post the forward edge ofthe door will become installed. The opposite edge of the door is made astight by a strip 22 attached to the opposite post 23 of the door openingand provided with a chamfered edge as at 24 for interlocking engagementwith a similarly shaped strip 25 carried upon the edge of the doorthough this particular arrangement of joint forms no part of my presentinvention.

As a means for locking the door in closed position I provide a gravitydog 26 pivoted as at 2'7 to the door opening face of the post 23, saiddog being provided with an inclined projecting lug 28 for normallyswinging into the path of the door and which is forced out of the dooropening by the inclined upper edge thereof only to drop back over thedoor when in closed position. The lower free end of the dog 26 isprovided with a suitable handle 29, and, if so desired, a pin 30 may besuspended from this handle for installation within a suitable hole 31 inthe face of the door post for holding the dog either in or out ofoperative position.

At 32, I have illustrated in dotted lines a sheet metal apron that mightbe employed and as being carried upon the inner face of the arm 6,projectthan found. in grain getting in between the two arms or leversand interfering with the operation of same.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is:

The combination with a grain car having a door opening therein providedwith door posts on either side thereof, of a grain door thereforeadapted to close the lower part of said opening by resting against saidposts, supporting arms pivoted at one end adjacent the top of said doorand at their opposite ends to the side of said car, an operating lineattached to the upper cen- JACOB MA'I'ISON.

